Fated Appearances
by silvermoonstone23
Summary: A girl hopped on the train and caught Black's eye. She glanced at him and did a double take. "Hey, haven't I met you?" Fate probably had nothing to do with their meetings and appearances, but if that was true then they were pretty darn lucky. [Agencyshipping one-shot, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIGERSNEAK1!]


_Warning: this story has no plot_ T^T

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, or anything else really...**

* * *

"_Long ago there was a pair whose love was not allowed, and therefore they were banished to opposite sides of the galaxy. Once, every year, the lovers reunite for one day, when fate brings them together."_

* * *

It was not love at first sight.

Black had been at the market all the way across town from his house with his older brother, when he saw the hills on the outskirts. There were hedges all along it, but he saw a peek of a fence and had decided to investigate. The fence was iron. Hard, and black, but he could see through the empty slots between bars.

Behind the fence and all the hedges was a little plot of land. A girl sat there, her face smudged with dirt, her stubby fingers pressing weeds into the mud. It was a pitiful little garden, but Black still stared curiously. He wondered if it was too late to plant; after all, it was late in the summer. But the girl moved about her work placing the weeds in strategically. _You would think she'd want to plant flowers or something…_he thought to himself.

He must have made a noise, because the girl glanced up quickly and saw him watching her. He worried he might've intruded, but she only tilted her head questioningly. Her eyes were pretty; they were a bright ocean blue. But she was pale and her hair was tangled and she was caked with mud.

"H-hi," he said, unsure of what to do.

"Hi," she echoed. Her expression didn't seem to be accusing him of intruding; rather, she seemed just as curious about him as he had been about the "garden" behind the fence.

"Uh, sorry I kinda just…" he trailed off. "Never mind. Sorry."

He turned to walk away, but stopped when he heard a call of, "Wait!" from the girl. He gazed over his shoulder at her. Maybe she would ask his name or why he was there or tell him about the garden. But instead, she just asked, "Do you play chess?"

He stared. _What does chess have to with anything? _Black wondered silently. To the girl, he replied, "Um…no, actually."

She looked disappointed, and nodded. Then she concentrated on her plants again, assuming he was leaving. _This girl is really weird…_Black turned to go and treaded down the hill, back into the streets of town to look for his brother.

So it was not love at first sight.

But that would be too cliché anyways.

* * *

The train was rushing along its tracks, from one stop to another. _I can't believe I have to commute to school, _Black mentally grumbled. _It's so annoying. What's the big deal about school anyways? Why can't they just build another bloody building in my area of town!_ But he said nothing, like usual. Even though he always felt bitter on his afternoon rides home, since it stole some of his precious time. And because he was bored.

The train doors slid open and some cool, late-winter air flushed in from one of the stops. _Some idiot must've opened a window in that station._ It wasn't his stop, though, so he sat and waited as more passengers boarded and a few got off.

A girl hopped on and caught Black's eye. She was pretty, with long chocolate locks in a puffy ponytail, and bright ocean-blue eyes. She sat down near him, no one in between, since most of the seats were empty and a lot of people chose to stand. The girl glanced at him and did a double take.

"Hey, haven't I met you?" she asked, leaning towards him.

Black, taken aback, narrowed his eyebrows. "I don't think so. I'd remember someone like you." He realized what he'd said and his eyes widened. "I-I mean I think I'd remember meeting you, 'cause I usually have a pretty good memory…"

The girl continued to size him up. It didn't seem to bother her, but it sure made Black nervous. She snapped her fingers. "Ah, I know! You saw me in my garden!"

Black searched through his mind and recalled those months ago when he'd found that peculiar "garden". He'd almost forgotten. "That was you?" he asked incredulously. The girl he'd seen then looked like she was a lot younger than him, but the cute girl before him appeared to be his age. Plus the garden girl had been covered in mud, but he did recognize her eyes.

"Yeah!" the girl chirped. "I was planting that day…oh you should see the garden now! All green, everywhere! Well it will be in the spring…it's a bit wilted right now…but that's to be expected. Just don't forget me next time, now that we've met twice." She stuck out a gloved hand. "My name's White!"

"I'm Black." He shook her hand as the train lurched to a halt. "This is my stop…"

"Okay! See you, then!" White waved as he got off the train.

Black watched the retreating vehicle. _That girl sure is peculiar, _he decided. He wondered if he would see her again. The chances were rather slim; while he didn't live in an upscale city, their town was rather large. Though he had the feeling that with that White girl, he should expect the unexpected.

* * *

Their next meeting came along sooner than he'd expected.

It was a windy, misty day in the streets of town when a girlish voice called out his name. At first, he though he was imagining it. Then the sound grew closer and closer. He spun around, expecting to see a classmate or a neighbor or his sister, but he caught sight of a puffy brown ponytail bobbing through the crowd. "White?" he called out, uncertainly, and within moments she leapt in front of him. Everything about her just looked…warm and sweet. She wore a plaid red scarf with little puff balls on the end; bundled up even as winter was creeping into spring. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, slight drizzle of rain.

She spontaneously hooked arms with him and led him off route from his initial course. _So much for picking up apples at the market…_ "We should get out of this rain!" she exclaimed. "It's pouring!" It was anything but pouring, though Black didn't correct her. She scampered into a little café, pulling him with her to a table. When they sat down and he raised an eyebrow at her, she grinned. "I saw you in the crowd and thought I might say hi. But this rain is torrential."

He resisted a facepalm.

"I should probably get an umbrella at some point…but this rain is good for my plants. Oh! Speaking of that! You still need to see my garden!" She paused for a moment to order something from a passing waitress, and then turned back to Black. "It looks a lot different than in August."

"You ordered coffee?"

White stared. "Uh…yes?"

"Hm…" Black tapped his chin. "I for one prefer tea. It soothes my throat. I have CORDS OF STEEL." He pumped a fist in the air before regaining his composure.

"I dunno…I like iced tea I guess," White said.

Black shook his head, disgusted. "Iced tea is just impure. It's not even tea…" He would have said more on the subject, but the waitress returned with White's coffee and a plate of scones, and Black ordered some tea.

"But like I was saying," White continued, "you should come see the garden. I'm there all the time…but only in the morning." Black rolled his eyes at her contradiction. "You know where it is. So you have no excuse not to come see it!" she decided.

Black sighed. _No getting out of this. _"Okay. I will, I guess." White clapped happily and sipped her coffee, before going into a long rant about scones. Black stared. _This girl is insane. One second she's bossy and then she's all happy. I just don't get it._

"Hey, do you play chess?" she asked suddenly.

"No," he deadpanned. "I think you asked me that before."

"I did?" she wondered aloud. "Huh. But you should. I wish you would."

He narrowed his eyebrows. "Why's that?"

"It's fun," she stated, like it was a crime that he didn't play it. "It's all calculations. Your move, your opponent's move. And it's like life. Cause and effect." She smiled slyly. "I've invited you to my garden. Now it's your move."

* * *

On the following Saturday, Black went to the hills on the outskirts and searched for the part in the hedges where he could see the fence, and through it to the garden. Although he was rather grumpy, he wasn't tired in the slightest; he was naturally hyper. When he was a kid he'd bounce off the walls yelling at the top of his lungs, just for the fun of it. He'd yell out his aspirations and even random things he was thinking about.

He parted the hedges slightly—the bloody plants had gotten a bit overgrown since August—and spied through the bars of the fence. His jaw dropped.

The garden was no longer a muddy pile of scattered weeds. Flowers bloomed gloriously everywhere, in spurts of bright colors. Where there wasn't a shade worth being in a firework, there was a lush green; grass, stems, leaves, you name it, covered where the dirt had been previously. _So…maybe the weeds weren't weeds after all…_

He scanned the garden, but there was no sign of White. He considered calling her name. He considered walking away. _"Your move."_ Right. It was his move. What was he supposed to do? Find her, or just let her fade into his memory? She was no one special. She wasn't even particularly close to him. And he was considering starting to call her "Boss" or "Prez" since she just had the air of someone who took initiative (whether that was a good thing, or a bad thing, Black couldn't decide). In summary, she was faulty. But then again, so was he. He was just the loud, hyper kid who yelled a lot and had weird dreams and was convinced he was somewhat clairvoyant.

He lost himself in his sea of thoughts, and that made the decision for him; he stayed. That was his move.

The next five minutes were an eternity. _Where the hell is that girl? Should I look for a way around the hedge? No, that'd seem creepy. But it's creepy if I just stand here and wait until I can see her. Then again, I came here last time, maybe she's expecting me to be here…_

As it turned out, his last thought was correct; he nearly jumped five feet off the ground when pearly pale hands grabbed his shoulders and a voice shouted, "Boo!"

Black spun around. "ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?!" he unleashed the power of his Cords of Steel.

"Yes," she deadpanned. "I was waiting to see your move! I was only here five minutes. Jeez. Come on, I'll show you the way in." She led him around the overgrown hedges. As it turned out, there was in fact a gate, but it was through one part of the hedge. A little hold had been pushed aside, and White ducked through like the bunny from _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland._

"You cannot expect me to go through there," Black said.

White poked her head back through and made an angry/pouty face. "You cannot expect me to drag you through here."  
Sighing in defeat, Black followed her "down the rabbit hole".

Inside, the flowers looked even more beautiful, and their fragrances wafted through the breeze. In spite of himself, Black smiled. "This place is much improved."

White surveyed her hard work and grinned. "Thanks. I like it here. It calms me. Apparently I'm moody."

Black nodded, choosing not to comment. "So do you want to be a gardener?"

"Nah. I want to be the head of an agency."

_Fitting._

He nodded again. For a moment, he thought to himself, _What am I even doing here? _But then he looked all around at the flowers, and at White, the fairest flower of them all. Somehow it made sense. Somehow he'd found a peculiar friend and it struck him that he'd like to know her more. She, like the curious and beautiful garden, was rather intriguing.

"Hey Black…" Her voice was soft, serious. "Do you think we were fated to meet?"

"Fate doesn't exist," he answered bluntly. She stared at him out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, it can't, logically. Just coincidences can happen. And the fact that I saw you because I had seen the hedges and I was snooping."

"Not only that," said White, still defending her end of the conversation, "but the train too. I missed my usual train, so I got on that other one at that exact time and somehow recognized you. I think fate meant for us to be friends." She smiled, looking off into the distance, and Black opted to not argue. Instead, he focused on the fact that she had acknowledged they were friends.

White turned to him suddenly, and as if reading his thoughts, asked, "But, do you want to be my friend? I came and scared you and brought you in here, and brought up fate. Your move."

"Are we still playing chess?"

"Uh, yeah!"

"Then yes. I'll be your friend."

"My knight just took out your rook!"

"What?"

"You need to learn how to actually play this game…"

* * *

One year later, as spring crept around again, Black found himself racing towards the train station. Somehow, he'd managed to be late. It was such a curse to lose track of time in his thoughts. Normally, he'd be late to get to White's garden. But on that day it was different.

He tore through the station and called through the crowd, putting his shouting skills to good use. A puffy brown ponytail bobbed through the crowd, and suddenly she was before him; his best friend, White.

Black pulled her aside from the crowd as a train could be heard in the distance, all the while chanting underneath his breath, "I made it, I made it…"

White rolled her eyes at him as they stood in the station, apart from the crowd. She shouldered her bag. "I can't believe you were almost late on a day like this." Her stunning ocean eyes were brimming with sadness, but they illuminated when she saw him. They had been friends for a little over a year, not including their little run-in, when Black had intruded near her garden.

"I know," Black said. "I'm sorry. But I made it just in the nick of time." He pulled out a simple necklace with a flower-shaped pendant and fastened it around her neck. "This is so you don't forget me!"

"Black, I'm not gone for good. You can't get rid of me that easily. I might be moving away, but I'm still coming back every month to visit. And to make sure that Bianca and Cheren take good care of my garden…"

"I know, I know." Black grinned. "But one more thing."

White tilted her head questioningly. "What?"

"This." Black held her by her shoulders and kissed her. Right there in the station, right on the lips. He'd known he'd fallen for her when he could overlook the fact that she liked iced tea. And when he thought that even when she was hard at work, caked in dirt in her garden, she was still the most beautiful flower beyond the fence. And when he suspected that even though it wasn't love at first sight, and fate probably had nothing to do with their meetings, her appearance, what he felt towards her was pretty damn magical.

He released her and beamed even wider; shock was a nice expression on her.

"Checkmate."

* * *

_A/N:_

_Iced tea is so icky…_

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIGER! Today is the luckiest day ever! AND REDIAL CAME OUT JUST IN TIME TO BE YOUR PRESENT!_

_I'm very sorry. This story has no plot T^T At first I wanted to write a non-cliché Franticshipping story just to show you that their characters can have development, but…that was kinda impossible ^-^" Then I was considering writing something about a different manga, but Pokespe is just so superior. Then I thought about doing something with Mirai Nikki. But…I just settled on Agencyshipping. And I added a train-scene-ish thing at the end. And referenced chess. And I probably got the part of the legend at the beginning wrong too…I know that there's different versions, and that there are magpies but…I had to tie in fate somehow…even if it's horribly clichéd -.-" So I'm very sorry about that...But hey, it's somewhat like the garden from Ao No Exorcist, when Rin and Shiemi meet. At least, that was what I was going for...and the ending is weird...urhg..._

_Anyways, I hope all the wonderful readers enjoyed!_

_Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Yuno got you a present. It's Akise's head. And my present to you is N's head :)_

_Rant over! Thanks for reading! Have an awesome day, everyone!_

_-Silvia_


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